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The explosive use of smartphones and tablets has created a new world of opportunity for today’s businesses. No other medium in the history of technology has been so personal, so powerful, or so disruptive to consumers’ day-to-day lives. Mobile devices put the world’s information directly into consumer’s hands 24/7, providing an abundance of choices and affecting decision-making in ways we have yet to even fully understand.

Those organizations that have recognized the power of mobile to drive deeper, more meaningful connections with their customers and prospects are the new leaders in a mobile-first world. But just in case your business has yet to fully jump into the mobile fray, here are five important mobile marketing strategies to help put you on the road to success:

1. Apps are where it’s at

Last year, mobile apps surpassed television as the medium with which consumers spend the most time. The mobile web, meanwhile, accounts for only 13% of the amount of time spent on mobile and is generally used for basic searches. However, native apps provide a more sophisticated experience — they’re typically faster, more interactive and serve as a dynamic two-way communications channel. Apps can utilize smartphone features like push notifications, the camera and the phonebook, and they allow businesses to get creative with personalized offers, loyalty programs and exclusive content. So while having a mobile-optimized website is important, remember that to truly deliver an enhanced mobile experience, apps are where it’s at.

2. Up your game

Once you’ve committed to an app, think about how it can serve as an extension of your brand while providing a great experience to your users. An app allows businesses to stay top of mind by occupying coveted real estate on a user’s mobile device. And while apps are capable of delivering experiences that other mediums cannot, it’s imperative to consider how your app’s functionality addresses your target audience’s needs, desires and intentions. What utility does it offer? How can it simplify previously difficult tasks? How does it entertain and delight users? Are you using it to reach people with the right message at the right time? The easier, better or more enjoyable you can make your customer’s lives, the more they’ll use your app.

3. Engage users one-on-one

Not all mobile users are alike. They will demonstrate different patterns and behaviors based on any number of characteristics, such as which type of device they use, where they live, how they found your app, and of course their own personal styles and tastes. One recent study, for example, found that app engagement is highest on weekends for iOS users but that the opposite is true for Android phone owners. Insights like these can help you decide when and how to deliver content, offers and other initiatives that cater to the user’s preferences and have maximum impact.

4. Become data-driven

Apps can collect a goldmine of data on your users. And with the right analysis, any business can truly get to know its customers better and understand what makes them tick. But it’s up to you to harvest the right insights from your data and put it into action. In today’s competitive mobile landscape, these insights can help improve the app, deliver a more personalized experience, and, when promoting your app to obtain users, to understand which marketing and advertising channels are most successful.

This last point, known as mobile attribution, is essential for measuring the effectiveness of your marketing efforts so you can optimize your budget accordingly and attract the highest quality users to your app. “Attribution analytics are absolutely essential for app marketers in today’s environment,” said Oren Kaniel, founder and CEO of AppsFlyer, a mobile attribution and marketing analytics platform that helps marketers measure their mobile campaigns across Google, Facebook, Twitter and 1,500 other media sources. “Without it, marketers are simply flying blind, but the data from attribution analytics can help them get the greatest return on their investment.”

5. Connect the dots

Don’t let your app strategy exist in a silo. The average US household owns 5.7 Internet-connected devices, and consumers aged 18 – 64 use three or more devices every day — which means that your business’s marketing strategy should integrate all of your web, social, mobile, and even any broadcast or offline campaigns into a cohesive experience for your customers. With technologies available today, it is possible to recognize users as they move from their laptop to their smartphone to their tablet, and to create a seamless experience across all their devices.

Committing to Mobile

No one ever said that building a successful mobile strategy was easy. It requires the right mix of creativity and imagination with a data-driven mindset and an adherence to your brand. Most of all, it requires a commitment to providing the best customer experience possible. But, given that mobile serves as consumers’ primary and most personal devices in today’s world, the payoff for those businesses that get their mobile strategy right stands to be a game-changer.

What constitutes a well-rounded social media marketing plan? The ideal mix of social media content blends four different elements – general content, customized content, online specials, and reviews.

General content: Posts that are about topics relevant to, but not about, your business. These can be topical, inspirational quotes, related to current events, related to local happenings, or humorous photos/cartoons. Link to reputable sources of content whenever possible.

Many local businesses view the thought of social media marketing with disdain, believing it is too much work with no return on investment for their business. Nothing could be further from the truth. A social media strategy, when managed properly, allows businesses to engage existing and potential customers, advertise in a very targeted manner, create trusted links to their website that boost search engine and local listings optimization, and show the world the business’ mission, values, and personality.

Last year Bright Local conducted research on which of the three main Search Engines gave the most space on their 1st page of results to local businesses; Google, Bing or Yahoo (see post). Now, 16 months later, they revisited the question and refreshed the results in an all new ‘Local SERPs showdown for 2015′.

3 Important questions to answer

In conducting & publishing this research, they wanted to answer these 3 questions:

Which Search Engine gives more 1st page space to local businesses?

How does the split of search results vary by keyword type?

How does the split of search results vary for geo-modified vs non-geo modified keywords?

Last month when Google announced an algorithm change that penalized non-mobile websites, it was dubbed “Mobilegeddon,” and everyone was scrambling to ensure their sites were mobile-friendly in order to perform well in mobile search.

In the time since that update, mixed reports have emerged about the impacts this algorithm has had on mobile website traffic. Because a sudden impact wasn’t noticed, many have assumed that they don’t need to worry yet about compliance with the mobile-friendly mandate Google set. In reality, “Mobilegeddon” is just one example that illustrates how much mobile has changed consumer behavior and Internet search behavior. In fact, the search engine Bing recently announced intentions to implement its own mobile-friendly algorithm.

Here are three reasons why local businesses should consider a mobile website a critical part of doing business.

SEO can be a bit of a beast. Everyone has their own methods and strategies and advice to give out to anyone who will listen. If you’re like me, you like visually appealing info-graphics that can print nicely and be hung on the wall for reference. The folks at Search Engine Land with Column Five Media have provided a very handy graphic and made my dream come true. Don’t panic; this isn’t high school chemistry class! Each “element” is a key ranking factor to consider to ensure your efforts are producing the best possible results.

The graphic notes both On-The-Page and Off-The-Page SEO factors that help and hurt your performance with a question fixed to each, allowing you to match your efforts against the table. Positive elements include crawl (Ac, “Can search engines easily ‘crawl’ pages on site?”) and negative factors include purchased links (Vp, “Have you purchased links in hopes of better rankings?”).

“If we hope to go anywhere or develop ourselves in any way, we can only step from where we are standing. If we don’t really know where we are standing… We may only go in circles…”

― Jon Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life

Mindfulness is the practice of observing one’s thoughts as they flow and learning how to be in the moment. A benefit is better self-awareness so your actions are more meaningful towards your goals. So to know where you’re going, we need to know where we are and we can use this practice in marketing.

38% have searched on mobile at least once per month for a local business

61% are more likely to contact a local business with a mobile site

With the increase in mobile usage, if you want to attract customers to your business, the decision of whether or not to have a mobile site is no longer an option.

Google’s algorithm change last month hasn’t had the horrific impact predicted worthy of its ‘Mobilegeddon’ nickname. It’s important to remember that mobile friendliness is just one of many variables that Google considers, but it’s clear that going forward, user-experience on mobile devices will have a greater impact.

Customer Lobby wanted to discover how consumer usage of mobile devices to find local businesses has changed. They ran a survey on this topic in 2013 and pushed the same survey to 900 members of their US consumer panel in April 2015. We pulled out three key tidbits of information from this survey that local businesses need to know.

It’s understandable to balk at a negative review and think you have a problem on your hands. But how do you respond to a negative review that contains inaccuracies about the work referenced? Or to a one-word review that just says “SCAM”?

Prospective Customers and Negative Reviews
The key to understanding how these negative reviews actually impact your business requires an understanding of how people are actually reading them. Remember that most people do not read reviews from beginning to end. Instead, they will scan the review and look immediately at your response. So the 500-word essay about how poorly you cleaned someone’s carpet will not likely have the impact you think it will–if you know how to respond to it.
Below are some of the three most common negative reviews and how to properly deal with each one.

Productivity Hero—Your Action Plan

Get enough sleep. Whoever coined the phrase “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” didn’t have all the facts straight. Not getting enough Zzz’s could hinder productivity at work, so try to get those recommended seven to nine hours of snooze time!

Create routines. Make a habit of, well, sticking to habits. Schedule actions like writing emails at a certain time or hitting the gym after work, and try to do them daily. Soon, that routine will happen on autopilot.

Wake up earlier. As long as you’re still able to squeeze in enough sleep, try extending the day by getting up an hour earlier—when it’s still quiet and there are fewer distractions.

Step away from the inbox. Incoming emails can be a nuisance. Make a habit to only check the inbox at certain times of the day to avoid getting sidetracked with requests and responses.

Make a daily to-do list. Stay away from huge to-do lists. Instead, create a daily list of realistic jobs to tackle, like folding laundry, scheduling a doctor’s appointment, or paying the cable bill. Break up big goals into micro-tasks, like going to a yoga class over getting six-pack abs, or writing a page rather than completing a thesis. Soon, the small things will add up to big accomplishments.